Department of Defense considers protests to be 'low level terrorism'

Anti-terrorism training materials currently being used by the Department of Defense (DoD) teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests should be regarded as “low level terrorism.” ACLU attorneys are calling the approach “an egregious insult to constitutional values” and have sent a letter to the Department of Defense demanding that the offending materials be changed and that the DoD send corrective information to all DoD employees who received the erroneous training.

“DoD employees cannot fully protect our nation and its values unless they understand that a core American value is the constitutional right to criticize our government through protest activities,” said ACLU of Northern California attorney Ann Brick. “It is fundamentally wrong to equate activism with terrorism.”

Among the multiple-choice questions included in its Level 1 Antiterrorism Awareness training course, the DoD asks the following: “Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorist activity?” To answer correctly, the examinee must select “protests.”

The ACLU sent a letter today to Gail McGinn, Acting Under-Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, asking that the materials be corrected immediately. The ACLU points out that the misinterpretation of First Amendment freedoms is particularly disturbing when viewed in the context of a larger, long-term pattern of domestic security initiatives by the government that have attempted to treat lawful dissent as terrorism. Examples of this shameful pattern can be seen in the Pentagon’s monitoring of at least 186 anti-military protests, the FBI’s surveillance of potential protesters at the Republican National Convention, the Fresno County Sheriff Anti-Terrorism Unit’s infiltration and surveillance of Peace Fresno, a community peace and social justice organization and the covert surveillance by the Maryland State Police of local peace and anti-death penalty groups.

“Teaching employees that dissent on issues of public concern is something to be feared, rather than respected, is a dangerously counterproductive use of scarce security resources, making us less safe and less democratic,” said Michael German, ACLU National Security Policy Counsel and former FBI Special Agent, who co-signed the letter with Brick.

The Level 1 Antiterrorism Awareness training course is an annual training requirement for all DoD personnel that is fulfilled through web-based instruction.

w w w . aclu.org/safefree/general/39822prs20090610.html?s_src=RSS

 

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that is apaling, in this country the goverment activly SURPORTS protest (or at least it has in the past), even the kennet goverment who are sadly famous for the batten charge against protesters at a closing school also built fed square with one of its main aims being to provide a safe (as oposed to the roads in the CBD) place for protesters to protest. The march from the state libary, down swanson street walk to fed square is the most popular route for protest (though spring street is popular too because thats where state parliment is located)

 

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Next thing you know, brown babies are terrorists too.

 

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Khameini will be delighted.

 

which does not include blocking streets, blocking entrances to buildings, chaining yourself to a tree or other object, throwing objects, being violent, harrassing people, being a nuisance, or a frikken host of other measures protesters use.

 

WEEEEEE another step to being openly fascist.

 

aw fraggle, that ain't no way to be.
i changed my fair share of shitty diapers too.
not to mention the 3 AM feeding calls and the fits of squalling.
and the worry, let's not forget that.

down deep inside you love your kids fraggle even though you might feel like strangling them.

 

Yes and that is all happening under your beloved leader Obama.

 

There are still many Bush era fascists lurking in government jobs.

 

I don't think fascism or Bush has anything to do with it. There is a type that is prone to voice this kind of garbage of law enforcement matters, etc. The important thing is that they are ignored.

 

And W was of that type, surrounded by that type.

That can't be assumed, of course - that they are ignored. At the RNC last year there was some evidence that they were not ignored, but were instead in charge.

 

Yes, fascist are left wing liberals as defined by our political system, Fascism is a European right wing/liberal Ideology as defined by Giovanni Gentile;

In 1932, Italian fascist philosopher Giovanni Gentile described fascism as a collectivist and statist right-wing ideology:

Granted that the 19th century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the 20th century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the "right", a Fascist century. If the 19th century was the century of the individual (liberalism implies individualism) we are free to believe that this is the "collective" century, and therefore the century of the State.

Tucker, Spencer C.; Mary Roberts, Prinscilla; Greene, Jack; Cole C. Kingseed, Cole C.; Muir, Malcom; Zabecki, David T. (DRT); Millett, Allan R. (FRW). 2005. World War II: A Student Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2005. ISBN 1851098577, 9781851098576. pp. 1506.

Isn't this the mantra of the Democrats Wing?

"to offer a radically new approach to politics, and a new form of government that could reshape society"

 

That which gives rise to fascism is the absurd belief on the part of the people that government will and ought to take care of them.

First, you need to realize the truth: it won't. And stop demanding that it do. And then fascism will no longer be a concern.

 

It is the Republican Party's campaign platform since 1979.

 

No, actually it's been the Democratioc party platform since 1929 and the New Deal.

 

??? how is this the dems. I would suggest you read up on what constitutes fascism.

 

This?

Can't say I recall much of that kind of language from the Dem side.

One of your most endearing characteristics is your propensity to post, as links in support, actual refutations of your assertions. You do that far more often than expected by mere random selection of links.

This one is one of your better ones:

 

No it isn't one of my better ones, it is from the;

Italian fascist philosopher Giovanni Gentile, and a description of Fascism in his own words.

This clip explains the political spectrum. From 100% rule of a Fascist dictatorship to 0% like that of Anarchy and that which is in between. Anarchy, Oligarchy, Democracy, Monarchy, Republic.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODJfwa9XKZQ